Last November, a little-known New York State Assembly member and fledgling mayoral candidate spoke on camera with Bronx and Queens residents about why they voted for Donald Trump, capturing frustrations among working class voters who shifted away from the Democratic Party. It was the first viral video from Zohran Mamdani, who rocketed out of nowhere to win the Democratic mayoral primary in June and maintains a double-digit lead heading into the general election.
Last week Mamdani could be found speaking directly to President Trump, this time through the lens of Fox News. “He may be watching right now,” Mamdani said, speaking to the camera. After swiping at the city’s current mayor, Eric Adams, and his now-Independent rival Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani, addressing the viewer-in-chief, promised to be “a mayor who is ready to speak at any time to lower the cost of living” and stressed “the needs of working class Americans.”
Mamdani’s ability to publicly address the president then pivot back to pounding his message about affordability, all while fielding a Fox News host’s questions ranging from the NYPD to Hamas, speaks to his exceptionally deft communications skills.
While the Fox News hit provides Democrats with a model for venturing beyond traditional venues and flourishing in potentially treacherous media terrain, Mamdani’s earlier video efforts demonstrate how candidates can harness YouTube and TikTok to address pocketbook concerns in clever and engaging ways. In one video, “Halalflation,” Mamdani talks to vendors about the cost of food and parking permits before highlighting how specific bills before the city council could save money — all in about 90 seconds.
What’s striking is how Mamdani has stayed consistent in his economic message this past year while vastly expanding his media reach, becoming not only the main character in a local mayoral race, but an emerging player on the national stage.
“I think the thing we have to recognize about this guy is he may be evasive, he may be a socialist, President Trump thinks he’s a communist, but he is a big talent,” said Fox News’ chief political analyst Brit Hume, an unlikely admirer, on “Special Report .” “And the striking thing about him is not only is he polished and articulate, but very disarming. He’s got this ready smile, and he seems so easygoing and friendly and affable. I think it’s hard for the labels put on him as an extremist to stick.”
Mamdani’s social media savvy has been well-documented, but he’s also made his case across a wide range of outlets, from cable news networks (CNN, MSNBC) to radio shows (“The Breakfast Club,” “Ebro In The Morning”) to podcasts (“I’ve Had It,” “Plain English,” “Pablo Torre Finds Out”) to daytime (“The View”) to late night (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”)
In recent weeks, he’s sat down for in-depth profiles in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times Magazine — more than 27,000 words combined —and, this week, appeared with David Remnick on “The New Yorker Radio Hour” and with Michael Barbaro on “The Daily.” Next week, he’s scheduled to do a live podcast taping with feisty city politics site Hell Gate.
While much of the post-2024 election discourse focused around the need for a “liberal Joe Rogan,” a better course of action may be to simply go on Rogan’s show, as well as others popular podcasts and programs across the political and cultural spectrum.
Free advice for Democrats
On the debate stage Thursday night, Mamdani urged Democrats to get out of their media bubbles in response to Cuomo challenging him to denounce left-wing Twitch and YouTube star Hasan Piker for saying America “deserved” 9/11.
Mamdani, who was interviewed by Piker earlier this year, described his 9/11 comments as “ objectionable and reprehensible,” but added that “part of the reason why Democrats are in the situation that we are in, of being a permanent minority in this country, is that we are looking only to speak to journalists and streamers and Americans with whom we agree with every single thing that they say.”
“We need to take the case to every person,” Mamdani continued, “and I’m happy to do that, which is why I was on Fox News yesterday talking about how I wish [the debate] was more like NASCAR, so we could see all the billionaires who are sponsoring you right on your suit jacket.”
The Wednesday Fox interview, on “The Story With Martha MacCallum,” included some potentially uncomfortable questions for the 34-year-old democratic socialist.
For instance, MacCallum asked if Mamdani would publicly apologize for once calling the the NYPD “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” which he did on air, and she asked if Hamas should lay down their weapons, to which he didn’t answer directly, leading to a raft of criticism. Still, Mamdani came out largely unscathed, with even Hume, no fan of the candidate’s policies, praising his performance.
Other Fox News commentators have been less kind to Mamdani; “So fake, and such a fraud” was Sean Hannity’s characterization after Thursday’s debate, during an interview with Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. Of course, being bashed by Hannity is to be expected for a progressive politician. Mamdani clearly saw value in the Fox News interview — specifically his comments directly to Trump — and he amplified them to his millions of followers on on Instagram and TikTok.
Looking to 2028
Clearly, Mandani’s compelling family history — born in Uganda to accomplished parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and professor Mahmood Mamdani — and his supercharged political rise is catnip for magazine profile writers and long-form podcast hosts. And unlike, say, Bernie Sanders, Mamdani isn’t averse to talking about himself, such as joking on “The Breakfast Club” are his brief rapper career as “Young Cardamom.”
But similar to Sanders, Mamdani makes a point of always returning to his core policy proposals: free buses and child care, and a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments. It’s a timely economic message that appears to be resonating in the party.
A Fox News poll conducted ahead of Thursday’s debate found Mamdani leading Cuomo by 21 points, 49% – 28%, with Sliwa clocking in at 13%. Another recent poll, found Mamdani in the lead with 46%, followed by Cuomo (33%) and Sliwa (15%).
Let’s be clear: Not every politician is as nimble as Mamdani, who is young, charismatic, fluent in pop culture and social media. During the 2020 presidential primary, I spoke with Democratic operative Lis Smith about her candidate, Pete Buttigieg, who was appearing everywhere from conservative talk shows to TMZ. “It’s ultimately the candidate who determines the success of these things,” she told me then. “There’s no magic recipe.”
Of course, media mastery alone isn’t enough to win an election, or Buttigieg would’ve been on the 2020 ticket instead of Joe Biden. But it’s hard to imagine a candidate winning in 2028 who isn’t capable of reaching voters wherever they are in a fragmented media environment.
Already, we’re seeing likely 2028 contenders making the rounds beyond traditional TV news shows. In recent months, Buttigieg has appeared on “The Breakfast Club,” “On with Kara Swisher,” “Mo News,” “Pod Save America,” and “Flagrant,” one of Trump’s podcast pit-stops during the end of the 2024 campaign.
Meanwhile, Governors Gavin Newsom, of California, and Andy Beshear, of Kentucky, launched their own podcasts this year. Newsom, who, like Buttigieg, also isn’t afraid to mix it up to Fox News, kicked off his podcast with an interview with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and emphasized the need to engage civilly with people you disagree with.
Then there’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who — like Mamdani — shocked the New York political establishment and has demonstrated social media savvy throughout her time in Congress. She’s amassed more than 26 million followers on Instagram, TikTok, and X and is reportedly weighing a 2028 run.
In our fractured, deeply polarized, attention-drained age, candidates will, as always, need a strong message, but also the ability to convey it, creatively and authentically, across a variety of mediums.
